Glasses and Contact lens wearers

britvic



Joined: 05/09/2008
Posts: 3039

Message Posted:
16/05/2009 11:48

Hi all, Did you know that your prescription for spectacles is universal? So if you wear Glasses or Contact lenses and are going abroad, take your prescription with you. In some country's you can be fined for not having an extra pair of glasses in the car whilst driving, it is actually against the law, which makes sense really, if your so short sighted and cannot see without your specs, what would happen if they broke or got dropped?

So when going abroad, take your prescription!

Does any one know a good Optician in NC?



Vicki

nurseawful



Joined: 06/02/2009
Posts: 5934

Message Posted:
16/05/2009 15:01

Good optician is the Canadian Optician which is neear Astro Supermarket in Girne. Contact lenses a problem for many people here in the summer as with the extreme heat the lens contract and get very gritty. Never heard of the law regarding 2 pair of specs but thanks for the info and it is a good idea.

Chris

susief


Joined: 06/11/2008
Posts: 529

Message Posted:
16/05/2009 16:18

Anyone got a rough price guide of what a pair of specs will cost here in TRNC - nothing designer just a basic pair and maybe sunglasses too? Thanks

smithy


Joined: 17/07/2008
Posts: 5301

Message Posted:
16/05/2009 16:21

I find it difficult to order lenses here as they take forever to come from Turkey they say around 2 weeks last time I waited for 2 months, so now I order from Spec-saver and get them brought over, I think it goes by your prescription. I have'nt bought glasses here so I cant say

Sheila

scoobydoo


Joined: 10/11/2008
Posts: 2434

Message Posted:
16/05/2009 17:58

My husband used to wear contact lenses and yes it can be a problem over here with the hot, dry heat plus the sand in the air.



He used to get them sent over from UK as Smithy does because they kept giving him the wrong prescription in an established eye clinic in Girne

stellasstar1



Joined: 02/07/2008
Posts: 1519

Message Posted:
16/05/2009 18:03

There's 2 or 3 places in the either of the main shopping streets in Girne.. I've had a couple of pairs here, plus prescription sun glasses and always found them quick, and if you have any problems with yopur glasses getting loose and need tightening, they do them for nothing while you wait.

lobylud


Joined: 14/10/2007
Posts: 242

Message Posted:
16/05/2009 18:19

When I was on holiday in NC a few years ago a family in the hotel we were staying in told us NC was a good place to get designer glasses really cheap.

You just needed to take out your prescription with you.

Their daughter bought a pair during that holiday.

They told us the whole of Cyprus was a cheap place for glasses, left over from the imperial days.

The next year when I was out I brought my prescription with me and purchased a nice pair of reading glasses.

The problem is though how can you be certain you are getting a bargain, it's made up correctly and what to do if there's a problem when your back in Britain ?

The optician I went to was on the right hand side (sea side) in Girne high street.

smithy


Joined: 17/07/2008
Posts: 5301

Message Posted:
16/05/2009 18:24

I agree with you all but the only problem was if your prescription is a + they take a longer time for some reason if they come at all, so its a call to spec savers for me I know that they will get it right/

britvic



Joined: 05/09/2008
Posts: 3039

Message Posted:
16/05/2009 18:54

I wear contact lenses whilst in Cyprus, the daily, disposable ones are quite good as they are like a jelly substance and don't tend to dry out, the sand can be a problem though.

Aysesdaddy



Joined: 21/03/2009
Posts: 392

Message Posted:
16/05/2009 18:54

Just be careful, they are cheap and made up fast but if your prescription is not straightforward problems can occur. I have had 2 pairs, which when taken to my local optician at home, because of headaches, was told the prescription was completely wrong. Buy with a credit card and then if a problem you can get your money back through the card. I wouldnt buy in NC again but its your choice.

britvic



Joined: 05/09/2008
Posts: 3039

Message Posted:
16/05/2009 19:02

I wonder why they get it wrong, a prescription is a prescription and can be read Worldwide, I wonder what the problem is? My last pair I got in America and used my English prescription, they were ready within 2 days and where perfect.

Aysesdaddy



Joined: 21/03/2009
Posts: 392

Message Posted:
16/05/2009 19:20

The optician at home told me that the prescription had been mirrored. If you could have turned them around they would have been fine. I am sure you can get good ones, but as they say "once bitten twice shy"

Ailletoo


Joined: 24/01/2009
Posts: 1003

Message Posted:
16/05/2009 20:16

I took my prescription to a small optician shop opposite and to the left of Debenhams on Ledra street. Ordered the glasses on Monday morning and collected them on Wednesday morning. Lovely old gentleman. They cost me 150 Euros complete with photochromatic and bi-focal lenses.

Woodspeckie


Joined: 25/01/2009
Posts: 2263

Message Posted:
16/05/2009 21:31

My husband negotiated a good price with a NC optician last year but when he went to collect them he was being charged double the price, the Optician said he had misquoted, told him to keep them - rip off. Cheaper anyway when he went to Specsavers at home.

britvic



Joined: 05/09/2008
Posts: 3039

Message Posted:
16/05/2009 23:51

Message 12 Nigel, Could you tell me how much you paid for your 'faulty' specs, and did you complain, or is it the case you haven't been back yet?



Vicki

Aysesdaddy



Joined: 21/03/2009
Posts: 392

Message Posted:
18/05/2009 01:30

Message15 Hi Vicky, Yes I did email a complaint to the opticians in Kyrenia with a copy of a letter from my own optician stating what was wrong with them. It took about six months of emails and sending glasses back for them to send me replacements. Unfortunately these were still not right. I eventually got my money back through my credit card company. My prescription is very complex and so were probably more than most would expect to pay, I think cost was approx. £250, but cant remember. I will say my cousin bought a pair at the same time, basic prescription and they were fine.

scoobydoo


Joined: 10/11/2008
Posts: 2434

Message Posted:
18/05/2009 07:43

My husband went for an eye test, with the same eye clinic he ultimately had problems with re contact lenses, got his prescription then went to the shop to get them made up and then couldn't use them. The optician blamed the shop and yes you guessed it........the shop blamed the optician, so after spending £200 on specs they now decorate the inside of a drawer.



With regard to his contact lenses, this same eye clinic kept providing him with different lenses but would not let him buy one month to check them out, he had to buy 6 months at a time, so each time they didn't work he was left with 5 months of lenses stuck in that same drawer as the specs. After the 4th time (he was a glutton for punishment) we had no choice but to go over the border to find an optician, this chap we use trained in Moorfield Hospital in London, and the reason the contact lenses were not working is he had cataracts and the 'qualified' optician here didn't see them!

britvic



Joined: 05/09/2008
Posts: 3039

Message Posted:
18/05/2009 11:50

Oh dear, this isn't good, so it's a trip to the South should your glasses break?

Hurmus



Joined: 13/01/2009
Posts: 37

Message Posted:
18/05/2009 12:09

To all that wear contact lenses

be careful with the sunlight and having pictures tacken as they can burn the lenses.



H.

scoobydoo


Joined: 10/11/2008
Posts: 2434

Message Posted:
18/05/2009 14:12

britvic,



I have been cheeky and taken my husbands glasses for repair in Girne and paid, it is cheaper than going south but I most definitely wouldn't use them for making up a pair of glasses.